Interrogation

Claudia headed for the brig after returning to the ship with the away team. She didn't want to put Isobel and José in there but she had to be cautious in a time like this - she did trust what Isobel said but she had to be sure they were who they said they were first. Isobel did strike Claudia as genuine - but would she really give Claudia the true position of the USS Renown so they could conclude their search?

Once she arrived in the brig Claudia found her Bajoran Security Chief was already there waiting for her. She smiled at him before asking about the two Renown crewmembers.

"I trust our guests are comfortable?" Claudia asked.

Benj turned his back to the others so that when he addressed the Captain, they wouldn't see or hear. "So far, they aren't violent, but they seem none to happy about the circumstances. Their weapons have been deactivated at the time of transport, but they still have them. I have put mine in the locker as a sign of good will." Benj gestured to the locker where his rifle was locked up. In his hand though, the glint of a holdout phaser could be seen. It was one that was palmed neatly in his hand.

"They are anxious to talk to you though, Captain."

Claudia nodded. She gestured for Tora to follow her as she walked up to the forcefield where a rather irate Isobel was stood with her arms folded and with a scowl on her face. José didn't look very pleased either - but it had to be done.

"So...now we've managed to vouch that you're who you are we can talk a bit more about the Renown. We're here to find your ship and we need to find it quickly. Tell me a bit more about where it is and we can send you back there" Claudia said.

Isobel was not happy and didn't really feel like talking very much.

"I'll talk when you let me out of here. How do I know you aren't part of this Consortium and you're just lying so you can go and steal our ship for your cause?" Isobel retorted.

Claudia listened before thinking of her reply. She had a fair point - but Claudia knew that if she was Consortium she wouldn't have led them outside before beaming them up - they'd have stunned them first.

"If we were your enemy we'd have stunned you before we left that cavern. In a time like this I can't trust anybody - especially when we've got somebody sabotaging my ship. I'll let you out if you tell me where the Renown is and I promise we'll go and look for it. I'm sure that my Tactical Officer here can vouch that we've had just as many problems with The Consortium as you have" Claudia replied.

Benj adjusted his shoulders a bit uncomfortably. No security officer really like to have security breaches on their ships. "The Consortium does seem to have the unfortunate knack of getting into where we don't want them", he said. "It doesn't help that they grew up on our protocols and training."

Isobel sighed. "Very well. Providing that you send us on our way once the Renown is retrieved I will give you its location. And please let us out of this cell"

Claudia gave Benj a brief nod to do as Isobel asked and power down the forcefield. Neither Isobel or José were well armed - so if they were going to attack their rescuers it would be a fruitless exercise - and there were over 800 other people on the ship they would have to get past.

Benj nodded to his commanding officer. He went over to the wall panel and typed on the button. The azure colored force field went down, leaving the officers from the Renown open to the officers of the Vindex. This is where Benj had determined that if they were imposters, saboteurs... Consortium... then this would be the first place they may attack. "If you will, please lay those weapons on the desk. You won't need them on the ship."

Isobel took José's weapon away from him and placed them on the desk as per their instructions from the Bajoran Security Chief. She felt he was trustworthy and that although Ainscow had put them in a holding cell Isobel thought in hindsight she was only protecting her ship. Isobel knew deep down she would do the same.

"Thank you. The location of the Renown is in a nebula not far from here - if you retrieve a PADD I will write down the exact co-ordinates so you can pinpoint its location. However I must warn you - there may be other ships in there and if you go in without fitting particle stabilisers to your impulse reactors...then that could cause some problems" Isobel said.

Claudia collected a PADD lying on a console and passed it to Isobel to write down the co-ordinates. It appeared that their search was over and they would be able to go their separate ways once the Renown was taken back to Starbase Unity as per their orders.

Isobel inputted the co-ordinates onto the PADD before passing it to Claudia. Claudia then gave them to Benj to input onto a wall mounted console to see if they checked out.

"Could you see if these match up on that console please Lieutenant?" Claudia asked.

Benj took the PADD from the Commander and inputted into the computer. Then he pushed a button the console to show the location. The image appeared on the security console. It resolved itself down from quadrant to sector to system. As it drew close to the coordinates, the clear dark star-lit background became murky as the computer adjusted for the presence of the nebula. "It appears that the coordinates are accurately in the nebula, Ma'am." He his left his CO for just a second and looked over at Isobel and Jose before returning to Claudia. "Whether the Renown is still there is still open for debate. As you have mentioned... there may be several ships in the nebula."

Isobel was confident the ship was still there. If necessary Captain Hutchinson would have moved the ship - however she knew that he would remain there until it became absolutely imperative the Renown needed to move to avoid any enemies.

"Well firstly you'll need to modify your ship's sensors and impulse drives...and you'll have to shut down your warp engines. I can assure however you it'll still be there. If you hurry up...that is" Isobel replied.

Claudia nodded. "We'll have to go and look at the very least. Even so it won't be today - it'll take at least 12 to 18 hours to carry out all of sufficient modifications"

"If you would like, Captain, I can assign them quarters on Deck 5 and see to their needs. And then I would like to get started on these contingencies, if you like."

Claudia nodded at her Chief of Security before glancing at Isobel and José who were looking a lot less irate than they were when Claudia came into speak to them. At least with them a lot calmer it would be easier to work with the two Renown crewmembers

"That'd be a good idea - thank you Lieutenant. If you can work on any weapons modifications that need doing until about 15:00 or so I'll call a meeting with a couple of other department heads so we can work on a plan for the sensors" Claudia replied.